Testimony of the Dead
Yuri Dmitriev, a wanderer in the Archipelago
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In 1997, the Russian historian Yuri Dmitriev discovered a secret mass grave dating from 1937/38 near Medvezhegorsk. He has since found and identified numerous bodies and published the names of thousands of victims of Stalin’s terror. Thanks to his efforts, the former killing site was transformed into the memorial of Sandarmokh, devoted to the memory of each individual victim. Dmitriev’s meticulous work is of vital importance for Russian society’s ability to relate to its own past. However, this work has been interrupted by a systematic campaign against him: Dmitriev has been held in prison under blatantly false accusations since December 2016.
(Osteuropa 9-10/2017, pp. 3–15)